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William Aspinwall (1602-1663)
}} * 1630 Winthrop Fleet * Member of Antonim Religious Conspiracy with Anne Hutchinson * English Immigrant to America / Returned to England Biography William Aspinwall was an Englishman who emigrated to Boston with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630. He played an integral part in the early religious controversies of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1630: Winthrop Fleet Migration This family were some of the 700+ Passengers of the Winthrop Fleet which sailed from England to settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony at Salem in 1630 under the guidance of Gov. John Winthrop. It is reported that during the first year nearly 200 of these colonists died and another 100 returned to England. The remaining settlers either stayed in Salem or moved on to Boston or Watertown. 1636: Antinomian Controversy In 1636-1638, Massachusetts Bay Colony, this family were Free Grace Advocates (AKA: Antinomian Controversy) which caused great religious and political strife in the colony. It pitted most of the colony's ministers and magistrates against some adherents of the Free Grace theology of Puritan minister John Cotton. The most notable Free Grace advocates, often called "Antinomians", were charismatic Anne Hutchinson, her brother-in-law Reverend John Wheelwright, and Massachusetts Bay Governor Henry Vane. In the summer of 1637 their opponents led by Gov John Winthrop won back political control of the colony. The following trial led to the banishment many of the leaders of this movement. William Aspinwall joined himself with the adherents of Anne Hutchinson and John Wheelwright (1593-1679), aided in drafting their famous petition, and departed with them to Rhode Island. He was at Portsmouth NH in 1638, where he signed the covenant of formation, but he moved to the New Haven Colony in 1641. Return to Boston By 1642, Aspinwall had rehabilitated his relations with the Boston authorities, and he began to acquire employment there recording official documents. In 1643, he joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. It was declared by the Boston court in 1644 that Aspinwall "shall be a public notary for his jurisdiction," and he continued at this post until 1651. As a skilled surveyor, he joined a group of Boston merchants on an unsuccessful expedition up the Delaware in search of furs. He was one of Boston's delegates to the Cambridge Synod of 1646. Relations ran afoul for Aspinwall again in Boston, and in 1652 he sold his property and returned to England where he was living in Cheshire as late as April 13, 1662. Upon his return to England he became one of the Fifth Monarchists, a radical religious sect that had a brief existence in the turmoil of the Commonwealth of England. Works Aspinwall published theological tracts following his return to England. He compiled the Boston Book of Possessions listing the property of every freeman of the city. His notary records were published in 1903 by the Boston Record Commissioners as A Volume Relating to the Early History of Boston Containing the Aspinwall Notarial Records from 1644 to 1651. Marriage and Family # Mary Aspinwall (1628-1676) - md Dea John Cove of Cambridge MA. # Edward Aspinwall (1630-1630) - born soon after parent's arrival in New World, but lived only two weeks. # Hannah Aspinwall (1631-) # Elizabeth Aspinwall (1633-1723) # Samuel Aspinwall (1635-) # Ethian Aspinwall (1637-) # Dorcas Aspinwall (1639-) Research Notes # We dispute the findings of GENI and state that there is NO proven ancestral connection to Lord William Thomas Aspinwall. See Also * - Wikipedia * Winthrop Fleet Passenger List * William Aspinwall * Aspinwall in Suffolk County, Massachusetts References External links * William Aspinwall from TGM Category:Migrants from England to Massachusetts Category:17th-century apocalypticists Category:People from colonial Boston Category:People of colonial Massachusetts Category:Free Grace advocates